Mother Nature likes to play tricks on you, especially when you live in Colorado.
One day after the Colorado Rockies took the field to unseasonably high temperatures for Denver in April, they were forced to put their Opening Week series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks on ice. Literally.
Freezing temperatures and driving snow and rain forced the Rockies to postpone their rubber match with the Diamondbacks on Sunday, sending many expecting a game home frustrated.
In a way, this is a blessing for the Rockies.
Yes, they were scheduled for a day off Monday anyway, but with pitching ace Ubaldo Jimenez and No. 2 starter Jorge De La Rosa ailing, the Rockies welcomed an extra day before welcoming the Dodgers to 20th and Blake.
Jimenez has a cuticle cut on his right pitching index finger, which messed with his control on his usually-filthy fastball on Friday.
The Diamondbacks took advantage of that, lighting him up for two home runs and chasing him down 6-3.
De La Rosa threw 5.3 sharp innings Sunday before leaving with a blood blister on his right throwing finger.
Head trainer Keith Dugger attended to both, and while he is optimistic they will make their next scheduled starts in Pittsburgh, he won’t be afraid of holding them back for a start if they’re not completely healthy.
Divisional Battle
The Rockies are preparing for yet another NL West rival when the Dodgers come calling for a quick two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday.
Second-year sensation Jhoulys Chacin takes the hill for the Rockies Tuesday against Dodger lefty ace Clayton Kershaw while Jason Hammel, who enjoyed a nice upswing in 2010, takes the ball for Colorado against Chad Billingsley.
The Rockies have had trouble against the Dodgers of late, going 7-11 against them last year. To continue the hot start the Rockies wanted coming out of spring training, they will have to play well against Los Angeles.
First pitch for Tuesday night’s game is set for 6:40 p.m. Mountain time, while the Wednesday afternoon affair is set to begin at 1:10 p.m. Mountain time.
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